From Darkness It Comes

The Darkness Within Darrin

Darrin follows her into the back room, through the old wooden door behind the counter, and finds himself in a small room draped with dark curtains. In the center of the room is a small round table covered with a burgundy cloth that hangs over the sides with many tassels around the trim. The lighting in here comes only from the hundreds of candles around the room on small tables and shelves, making everything seem alive as they flicker. The smell of burning incense is even stronger in here and he watches swirls of pale smoke waft around the room.

The old woman takes her seat at the table and waves for Darrin to take a seat on the other side. "Please, sit." She says softly. "We start whenever you are ready."

Darrin cautiously sits down on the padded chair provided and looks around the room. She is sitting opposite of him and there are a number of crystals and smooth stones scattered around the surface of the table. Darrin looks at them and notices what look like some kind of white bones mixed with the rocks and tiles. His heart skips a beat, his nerves are on edge, but he nods to her. "Okay, I'm ready."

She scoops up the stones, tiles, and bones from the table, leaving the crystals carefully placed around as they were. She shakes them in her hands and holds her hands out towards Darrin. "Place your hands on them." She says in a serious tone.

He reaches up and places his hands on the stones in hers. She pulls her hands out and lets them all fall to the table. Darrin's hands jump in start before he pulls them back to in front of him. The woman looks over the fallen tiles and bones with pursed lips and a serious gaze.

"What?" Darrin asks in a worried and hushed tone, looking down at the seemingly random tiles and bones strewn about the table.

The woman simply clicks her tongue and shakes her head. Silence follows as Darrin watches her with a now gaunt face. She then takes in a long sighing breath before speaking.

Her voice is low and serious. "I see darkness within you. Terrible darkness that is growing stronger."

Darrin gulps and starts to ask "What do you mean?" But never gets it all out before she continues.

"But there is hope. Darkness, yes, but not all evil. You may hold the only answer to stopping something darker still. But only if you find the key to using it. Otherwise all is lost." Her face then drops and her eyes widen. She pulls her hands back and slides away from the table.

"What is it?" he demands. "What did you see?"

She simply stands up and point towards the door. "Get out. You must leave now."

"Why? Tell me what you saw! I demand you tell me."

"There is nothing more I can do tonight. I have to look into thing. Check the scrolls." She almost seems distracted as she talks, as if she is more reminding herself of thing than explaining them to him. She then snaps her head back up to look at him with cold and serious eyes. "You must go now."

Darrin knows there is no arguing at this point. Her face is set. He simply struggles out one more word. "But?" Then he leaves the shop, hearing the door lock behind him. Now there is nothing to do other than go home before it gets too dark and try to get some sleep, so he does.